David Barton: The Second Amendment Says Citizens Can Own Tanks

Christian pseudo-historian David Barton has always twisted and distorted the words of the Founding Fathers in defense of Christian Nationalism. More recently, he’s said church/state separation means Christians shouldn’t have to pay taxes.

His latest argument is that the Second Amendment gives all citizens the right to own whatever weapons the government has. Any of them. All of them. Even tanks.

He made the argument to anti-LGBTQ bigot (and YouTube darling) Steven Crowder, who just bought whatever Barton was selling.

“The deal was you have a right to defend yourself,” Barton said. “So, the biggest weapon in that day would have been a cannon — hand’s down, a cannon. You’re allowed, as a citizen, to own cannons.”

“Whatever the government had, you could have,” he added, “because we might have to take on the government some day. We hope that never happens, but in case it does, we defend ourselves from anything that comes after us; whether it’s from foreign or domestic, whether it’s a gang, whether it’s a government, whether it’s a crazy uncle, we don’t care. So, for them, there was no limitation on what you could use or how you could defend yourself.”

“They were OK with cannons and that would be our equivalent of high-capacity magazines or machine guns,” Barton insisted, “or it could be equivalent to a tank.”

Sure, why not? Everyone who can afford it can buy a tank. That’s what the Founders wanted. Which is why they said it in the most vague possible way.

What about drones? What about nuclear weapons? What about access to government intelligence?

And at what point do evangelical Christians admit Barton is just making this up as he goes along, treating the Constitution the same way they treat the Bible?